Prom at the DWMA?
by Dark and Death
Summary: That's right, due to the number of requesting students, Lord Death decides on the first ever DWMA prom to be held at the academy! Last night, Maka had a pep talk with Crona about meeting new people, and well... He just takes it a little too seriously... Rated T for Ragnarok's language.
1. The First Ever, DWMA Prom!

**Death: Hello, guys! Sorry I haven't been updating latley. I'm starting many new stories! Also, this story won't be as descriptive as my other fanfics, as this is just a follow up to the sequence story I have in mind after this. This is the ANIME Soul Eater. Note that in here, I put Crona as a boy, just so that the pairing would work. ;) **

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"Lord Death sir," Sid addressed to the Shinigami who had his back turned to the mirror watching... A cartoon flick? While giggling to himself lightly.

"Hehe... Oh, Sid! It's you!" Lord Death jumped and turned around to the zombified, blue-skinned teacher with haste and flicked off the channel that he was currently watching on Cartoon Network. "Well, what bring you here to the Death Room so early the morning?" Shinigami questioned while bouncing up and down like a skinny black jumping-bean.

"Well, lately some of the students have been requesting that we have the first ever prom at the DWMA, although it has never been done before..." Sid explained.

"Well, let them have it!" Lord Death chided while bouncing up and down even more with new bursting excitement. "If it's what the kids want, then we shall make it a reality!" He pointed out with a white square finger to the air.

"B-But sir. We don't even have the preparations ready yet." Sid stated the fact. Lord Death froze and put a single finger to the bottom of his mask.

"Hmm... You may be right Sid..." The Reaper mumbled. "Alright, you have exactly one week to do all the preparations necessary for the first ever DWMA prom! And, we'll be posting the fliers for it today!" Shinigami cheered. Sid just stood there awestruck by the amount of orders that had just been given to him in a mere two sentences. "This will be so exciting. My school's first ever DWMA prom!"

Later that day...

"What the-" Soul began.

"The first ever DWMA prom?" Maka read off the poster pinned to the morning bulletin board.

"W-What's a p-prom?" Crona shivered as he asked the question. Maka, Soul, and Crona all stood staring up at the newly posted flier with the rest of the other academy students in the hallway. It was hard to miss, considering the large size that took up almost the whole board black background board, and not to mention the overdose of dazzling glitter and bold color print.

"Starting next Friday, January 26th at 7:00pm students are allowed to attend the DWMA's first ever prom night. There will be food, music, dancing, and not to mention a live performance of Skrillex on stage at the Grand Hall. Be sure to wear formal clothing and bring a date." Maka read the rest of the poster. "WHAT?! NOBODY TOLD ME ABOUT THIS!" She yelled with her gloved hands entangling in her hair, nearly ripping out her pigtails in the process.

"God, this school is really starting to lose it." Soul face-palmed.

"Completely." Maka agreed.

"Hiya, guys!" A voice greeted, coming from down the hall not too far away. It was the unmistakable voice of Black*Star. The three of them turned (Crona a little more hesitantly with one hand clamped around his other arm). Black*Star and Tsubaki walked over towards them, Black*Star greeting Soul with a high-five.

"Good morning Maka, Soul, Crona." Tsubaki greeted as well.

"Yeah, yeah." Black*Star interrupted. "Anyway, what's the deal with all the commotion around here?" He asked while looking around at all the Miesters and Death Weapons lined up to see the board.

"Big news. We just found out that the school's hosting the first ever prom. Talk about a coincidence." Soul scoffed with his arms crossed.

"What? You're kidding a prom?" Tsubaki question. It was easy to tell her excitement by that glittery glint in her eye.

"BUAHAHA! A prom?! Who'd ever want to go to some stupid lame thing like that?!" Black*Star laughed as he doubled over and rolled on the floor like some kind of rabid flea-bitten dog.

"Black*Star..." Tsubaki frown. She kinda wanted to go in the first place.

"I w-would." Crona tried to whisper with his head down, but all four of them heard it as clear as day. They all froze and turned to him. Wondering if those two words actually came from his mouth. Crona blushed at all the stares they were giving him. "Well, Maka mentioned last night that I should start to get to know more people... So, if a prom is a gathering of people, I g-guess I could give it a try." Crona explained then looked up slightly while blushing.

"Uh, are you sure about that Crona?" Black*Star questioned.

"You know, you're gonna have to go with a date, right?" Soul said with hands now in his pockets. "How're you gonna find one?"

"I will..." Crona then looked up and turned his head down the hall, momentarily looking away from his friends.

"Well, if Crona's going to the prom, then I'm going too!" Maka declared with a fist-pump. Everyone's jaw dropped after she said that. She playfully placed a reassuring hand on Crona's shoulder, making him smile slightly.

"You know you're going to need a date too, right?" Soul ruined the mood. Maka froze.

"You're right," Maka then abruptly turned to Soul who flinched a little at her now energized soul-wavelength. "Soul, you'll be my date to the prom." Maka declared again with a finger pointed to her partner's face. Now, Black*Star started to roll on the floor even harder while suffocating in his own laughter and strangled by the carpets.

"Wh-What? I u-uh, don't thin-" Soul hesitated while gaping.

"Come on," Maka grabbed Soul by the hand and squeezed lightly. "It'll be fun."

"U-Uh-" Soul wavered for a second, then sighed and submitted to Maka's demands once again. "Fine." Maka smiled at her parter, making Soul smile as well.

"Well, what about you Black*Star?" Tsubaki asked the blue-haired assassin still laughing on the carpeted floor in agony. "Do you want to go to the prom?"

"HAHAHA! As if lameos!" Black*Star scoffed on the floor. Everybody frowned.

"There will be lots of food..." Tsubaki tempted. Black*Star then froze in mid-laugh, got up, and faced all of them.

"Mmm..." Black*Star rubbed his chin while Tsubaki continued to give him the puppy-eyes. "Alright, I'm in! The food there must be delicious!" Both Soul and Maka made a face to his new found enthusiasm while Tsubaki just smiled widely at her partner. "Tsubaki,"

"Yes, Black*Star?" Tsubaki glanced at him.

"You'll be my date to the prom, ok?" Black*Star confirmed with a thumbs up just inches away from her face. Tsubaki just blushed and turned away for a second. After a while, she glanced back.

"S-Sure." She fumbled her acceptance. Black*Star gave a huge grin back in reply.

"So, Crona. How are you going to find a date?" Maka asked, turning back to the Demon Weapon Miester.

"I can look around..." Crona mumbled while glancing several times at the floor.

"Huh? What was that?" Black*Star edged closer to Crona while cuffing his left ear towards Crona's own face. Just as Crona cringed and back a step away, Maka slammed the spine of her book straight down the middle of Black*Star's head. Resulting in him being knocked face first into the floor and cracking the stone grey marble.

"Don't pick on Crona!" Maka blared to the steaming pile of blue hair at her feet. Tsubaki kept on mumbling the Black*Star's name with teary eyes.

"I'm going to look around now before school starts, ok?" Crona said to Maka, resulting in a blank stare from her face.

"Uh, would you like me to go with you, Crona?" Maka offered. Crona surprisingly, for the first time ever, rejected her offer with a shake of his head and walked off down the hall.

"Tsk, that guy is something else." Soul chuckled. Maka just looked down at the ground regretfully. That was the first time that Crona had ever rejected her like that. She couldn't help but feel a bit heartbroken. Soul took note of her increasing depression and placed a reassuring hand on her right shoulder. "Come on, don't beat yourself up because of him. Besides, he's finally getting his first taste of independence." Soul reassured.

"Yeah, you're right Soul." Maka nodded and turned to him with a smile.

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**Death: Left you at a little cliff hanger there. Sorry! Well, how'd ya like it? Reviews, Follows and Faves are appreciated! Thanks! I'll be working on this story the most, so expect an update shortly! **


	2. Opposites Attract

**Death: Hello! Chapter published as promised! It took a little longer that expected, sorry! This chapter is extra long to make up for it, though! Enjoy! **

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Crona wasn't as confident as he was back there than out in the hallway like he was now. It was much easier to say things than to actually dish them out. _How am I going to find a date? _Crona asked himself, and the only person (or thing) who could ever answer himself was none other than Ragnarok, who was forever _inside_ himself. Right on cue, mini Ragnarok emerged out of Crona's spine within a mere black flash of a second, and was now straddling Crona's head for balance.

"Hey, quit it! I already lost a whole lock from the last time." Crona complained. Ragnarok surprisingly didn't show any signs of wanting to pull up Crona's skirt for the annoying backtalk.

"Shut it, pansy!" Ragnarok spat. Crona froze in complete puzzlement. _No beating today? _Crona fumbled in his head. Although he shouldn't have jinxed it, because right after that, Ragnarok pummeled him with a white gloved fist to the side of head.

"Ow, please stop it. If you don't the stars and birds will come back to float around me again, and I don't know how to deal with all those tweedy noises in my sleep." Crona pointed out.

"Look, stupid!" Ragnarok shouted. "I heard what you were talking about back there..." Ragnarok paused to let that sink into Crona's badly bruised head. "So, I wanna know... HOW THE HELL IS A PATHETIC THING LIKE YOU GONNA POSSIBLY FIND A DATE TO A PROM?!" Ragnarok screeched in his ear, making Crona wince in agony. "DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT A PROM IS, STUPID?!"

"No! How could I?! Ah! The tweedy noises are back again!"

"Quit your whining, idiot! Look, I've been sensing the certain presence of witch nearby." Ragnarok looked over down two random halls, currently occupied by random students. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"A... Witch?"

"Well, not exactly full witch. More like, half."

"In the school?" Ragnarok nodded after Crona asked. "What about it?" This resulted in another punch to the side of the head by Ragnarok. Crona just winced.

"Dumb ass! Ask her out! She's the perfect date for a pathetic thing like you."

"B-But, what if she's mean?" Crona whimpered.

"Then it'll be entertaining to watch her cream your sorry, pansy ass all over the dance floor!" Ragnarok laughed wickedly at Crona's future misery.

"Fine. Where is she?" Crona asked while huffing in defeat. Ragnarok began to concentrate for a second, focusing on locating the half-witch. Then, he finally got a lock of her. It was a strong and radiant presence, almost as pronounced as Medusa's soul. It was so similar to a pure witch's soul that Ragnarok had been tricked into thinking that at the beginning, but one part of the soul stood out as being human. The soul wasn't purple. It didn't have the toxic halo of bitterness surrounding it as all the other witch souls that the Demon Weapon had encountered. Heck, the soul wasn't even _purple_ to begin with. Ragnarok could only describe it as a grey, smoke-like soul.

"There," Ragnarok pointed a white gloved finger down the hall. "looks like she likes watching sunrises as much as you do." Crona's eyes followed Ragnarok's finger like a compass needle, blindly walking to the location directed. It soon led him to one of the DWMA's marble balconies.

It was a large spaced area with cream and red tile shards making up random pictures with a few fragments embedded in the cement. To Crona's surprise, the area was completely deserted. Under normal conditions, a popular hangout like the balconies rarely ever depleted to the population of zero inhabitance.

"Ragnarok, are you sure? There's no one here..." Crona noted to him while taking a quick glance up at his weapon. Then, Crona began hearing the unmistakable melody of a Rib Flute. They were a rare type of musical instrument made from a single hollowed out horse rib and crafted by various species of the undead, including necromancers, undead spirits, and even a few witches that were known to have strong connections to The Underworld. Crona knew of these types of instruments, even though Medusa had only given him the most basics of education, he remembered when that day his mother came back with the rib bone of a horse with approximately twelve carven holes right at the center of the bone curvature and several, decorative tribal engravements running along the sides of the costal groove. She also asked for him to play it. The Rib Flute had really, no other purpose but for entertainment to the undead, and knowing Medusa, she burnt it to a crisp in the fire hearth once she discovered it's uselessness. Crona had always enjoyed the rich, filling tone the instrument always produced when air whistled through it's hollow inside, and hearing it again made his soul want to soar. Best of all, the flutist began playing a song while Crona listened to the lyrics being sung in his head.

_I remember tears streaming down your face when I said "I'll never let you go" _

_And all those shadows almost killed your light... _

_I remember you said "Don't leave me here alone"_

_All that's dead, and gone, and past, tonight... _

_Just close your eyes..._

_The Sun is going down..._

_You'll be alright..._

_No one can hurt you now..._

_Come morning light _

_You and I'll be Safe_

_And..._

_Sound..._

The anonymous flutist held that last note for a long while before finally ending the part of the verse.

Crona snapped out of his trance and figured out where the music was coming from. The sound came from... Behind the large sugar maple tree planted to the side of the balcony. At this point, Ragnarok decided to retreat back into Crona, confident that his little Miester would surely get thoroughly screwed if it came down to combat with this she-devil. After all, he sensed that this was no ordinary witch that they were dealing with, and that was partially why he suggested Crona to ask her out.

Crona was just about to make a move himself, but a rustle from behind the tree stopped him in his tracks. Then, he heard the motion of someone standing up from there, judging by the crisp crumbling of fallen leafs. Crona felt his heart race as the suspense of pause began to overwhelm him. He stepped back a foot and just as he was about to whip around and break for it, the flutist spoke up.

"Don't run away..." The voice was delicate and frail, tinged with upmost innocence that could only be compared to a wilting flower. It was in no doubt, a female's voice. Crona froze right where he was and cringed in fear. Another rustle came as the musician finally decided to reveal herself from behind the sugar maple tree, and faced him.

The girl was about Crona's age (in her fourteens) and roughly the same height too, although her somewhat frail appearance made her look two inches shorter, she didn't seem to have the guts to stand straight and tall. She had long, straight, abyssal black hair that draped down her back and front shoulders with two, inch long ocean blue highlights spaced out evenly on the left side of her head. A small hair clip (that looked like two iridescent colored fish circling around each other) held back a lock from covering over the small scar cutting across her whole left eye. The eyes themselves, were stunning beyond belief. They were a mix of colors consisting of cyan blue, ivy green, and violet purple patches scattered in random order surrounding the black pupil and kept in place by the dark outer rim that bordered the vibrant colored iris. She was dressed in a coal black, heavy tunic that seemed to be made out many different kinds of materials as well. An upside down triangular-like chest plate seemed to be made out of solid black leather while her silk, ribbon-like long sleeves ended in a V-cut just above the wrist. She also wore a long calf-high black skirt that split open between her legs and rear to reveal yet another layer of black pants and matching shoes. Lastly, on her forehead, she bore small (but visible) marking that almost looked like two parentheses facing away from each other with a horizontal line that sliced through them both. It was the symbol of the zodiac, Pisces.

"Did you like it? My playing?" She asked while clutching the Rib Flute in both of her hands as she tucked behind her back. Crona could only give a meek nod of approval in his position. _Why is this witch being so nice to me?_ He thought. "Wanna find out more where that came from?" She edged closer to him, but only to pass him by ever so elegantly to manage to brush some strands of hair against his shoulder without her even touching him. "Come on. Follow me." I hollow _clack_ against the cement floor caught his attention. The Rib Flute that she had clutched in her hand was now lying on the balcony floor. "Oh, and bring that with you too." The witch pointed to the instrument on the ground with a single finger and then strided back into the school building and taking a left. Crona did what he was told. Gently, he reached down and plucked the flute off the ground and with baby steps, followed in the invisible tracks of the witch.

Tarse was walking down the hallway with her textbooks in one hand when she encountered a familiar face coming at her from the balcony. In fact, it was the exact same face that she had.

"Tarse! Tarse!" Melody screeched with glee. Charging at her with the top speed of a giddy sissy girl, and that was pretty darn fast.

"Whoa!" Tarse exclaimed and shielded herself with a book in front of her just in case Melody forgot the brakes. Thankfully, Melody braked just in time to have her face just inches from getting flattened from a four inch thick textbook. The two looked identical in cloths and appearance, that there were only a few things you could use to tell them apart. Tarse (unlike Melody) had golden-brown highlights instead of blue ones and also, their eyes were completely different in color. Her eyes were made up of numerous radiant bronze, gold, and even some copper flecks, similar to the color of amber (but not quite) with a black pupil and prominent black outline bordering the bronze-amber iris. Like Melody, she also wore a hair clip to pull back the lock that once covered her scarred eye, but this hair clip (instead of two fish) was that of a seagoat (top half of a goat, middle part of a snake, and tail of a fish), and that symbol on her forehead wasn't that of Pisces, it was the symbol for Capricorn.

"Tarse, I have something to tell you!" Melody pleaded over the side of the book. Tarse finally retracted the book back to her side and looked at Melody directly.

"Alright, what do you just _have_ to tell me?"

"I found someone to be your perfect date to the prom!" Melody shouted that a little too loud, which resulted in her mouth being slammed shut by one of Tarse's hands.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up about that already?! What makes you think I would want to go to a stupid event like that?" Tarse hissed. Melody shrunk an inch and removed her hand from her mouth.

"But I wanted to go..." She sniffed. Tarse hesitated.

"Then go find a date yourself!"

"But you're a lot more confident than me. And it would be easier to just ride along with you."

"You know, I'm not as confident as you might think. I'm only acting, you know?"

"Yeah, but come on! I took the time to find you a great date and all you do is refuse?! That's not what friends are for..."

"Melody, I can't say _yes_ right off the bat. I haven't even met the guy your suggesting to me." Tarse stated. Melody's face began to lit up.

"Then you can meet him right now!" Right at that instant Melody rammed straight through Tarse, merging themselves together with each other's flesh and body, though it was actually Melody that hid inside Tarse. The sheer force of it caused Tarse to stumble back a few steps to regain her balance.

"Tsk, you're really that confident?" Tarse questioned and glanced upward. Melody then manifested into a long, ocean blue, scaly (fish scaled) serpent with gills at the neck, two small, quaint little fins to the side near the gills, and the large iridescent speckled frill that began from her head and attached itself to the dorsal membrane trailing down her serpentine spine out of Tarse's own.

"Yep!" Melody chided in her hydra (or serpent) form. Tarse just rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"So, who is this _prince charming_ you sent for me anyway?" Tarse asked.

"Oh, he's lovely! Just your type." Melody smiled.

"Melody, do you even know my type?" Tarse turned to her.

"Well... Uh... No, not exactly, but you did say something about uniqueness." Melody perked. Just then, Crona stepped out into the hallway and turned left towards the two. He didn't seem to notice that much as he was too busy investigating the Rib Flute in his hands to notice.

"Hey, is that my Rib Flute?" Tarse knit her eyebrows. "Melody..." She growled.

"Ehe, sorry Tarse. But he really seemed captivated by it. It was the only thing I could do to get his attention." Melody apologized. Tarse sighed.

"Great, looks like I'm going to have to get it back."

"You go, Cap!" Melody cheered. Tarse smiled lightly as Melody retreated back into her spine for a while.

Crona didn't even notice the girl standing right there in front of him before almost running into her. Good thing she spoke up.

"Hey, I believe you have something of mine." The voice was different though. It was strong, demanding, and cold, as if it came from a hail brewing winter storm combined with the rumbling of an earth quake. It spooked him a little at first. Crona looked up. There right in front of him stood the same girl, but how could that be? This one's voice was almost the polar opposite of the one he just encountered a minute ago. Then, he started to note the minor changes in her appearance. Her body was no longer frail and shrunken, she now obtained a corrected, upright posture with her head tilted slightly to the right. Her eyes were also of a different color, and not to mention her now brown highlights and different figured hair clip. Although, Crona failed to notice the difference between the symbol on her forehead.

"U-Uh, you dropped this a minute ago. J-Just returning it." Crona stuttered under her cold, piercing stare...

"Oh, Tarse. I think you're making him a tad nervous, don't you think?" There was that light, gentle voice again. It was emitting from behind the girl named Tarse.

"Alright, Melody you can come out now." Tarse sighed.

"Ok!" Melody then sprouted out from Tarse's spine like a newly planted daisy (kind of how Ragnarok pops out of Crona's) in her manifested hydra form. This of course, made Crona jump. Right there, Tarse decided to start a greeting.

"I'm Capricorn, but you can call me Tarse. Over my shoulder," Tarse gestured with hand towards smiling, the fish-like hydra. "is Pisces, but you can call her Melody."

"Hi, there!" The serpent, Melody greeted with a friendly wave of her tail. "I over heard you and your friends having a conversation about prom dates, and I think Tarse here will be more than willing to help." She added. Tarse just scowled at her.

"Melody... I swear I will wrestle you like an oversize lasso and make all the bones in your body bleed against a tree if you don't shut the hell up." Tarse threatened with upmost hostility in tone. Crona grimaced at the thought of her potentially doing that to him.

"Scary!" Melody whimpered and tucked herself back into Tarse's spine, attempting to hide from her own vassal. Tarse let out a soft sigh.

"My pardon. Sometimes she just gets a little over excited. You don't have to go with me if you don't want to. I'm known to be very hostile and cold at times." Tarse apologized.

"W-Will you go to the p-prom with me?" Crona tripped over his own words. Sure this witch might be a little over the top, but he had no choice. No one in he DWMA was possibly willing to go out with a pathetic thing like him. Plus, allying a powerful witch was sure to offer himself some protection and not to mention a very powerful friend he could rely on, but then again, if he screwed it up, it could end in more than just disaster. Tarse narrowed her eyes.

"Are you sure? You won't regret it?" She rumbled in a low, serious tone. Crona could only nod under her stone piercing gaze. Then, to Crona's surprise, the witch actually smiled a him, even though it was more of a sadistic _I like a challenge_ smile, it was still an actual smile. "Alright, Demon Weapon Miester. You have a deal. Now, if you please..." Tarse gestured to the Rib Flute still in his hands. Crona jolted at first, then handed the instrument to her which she took and tucked under her sleeve.

"H-How did you know I was a-" Crona began.

"You've got another soul inside of you." Tarse pointed to his chest.

"Um... Are you a witch?" Crona couldn't resist letting that spill out, and clamped his mouth shut with a hand after that. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to assume. I shouldn't have said that." Crona faced the ground expecting a whipping from the girl in front of him, but she stood her ground.

"No. I'm not a witch. A lot of humans make that mistake at first glance of my soul." Tarse paused and glanced at him once again. "Here, take a closer look..." Crona then hesitantly looked up and began to see into her soul wavelength. It was very similar to a witch, almost identical, but the soul wasn't of the same texture as a witch's. It wasn't a human's soul either, or of a Demon Weapon or Miester. This was an entirely different length that he had never before witnessed. Crona felt that it didn't belong in a human body though, he felt a soul like that belonged somewhere else. _Somewhere in the sky..._ He guessed. "You see it now?" Tarse asked. "Do you know what I am?" When Crona shook his head, she answered him. "I'm a Zodiac Spirit. The spirit of Capricorn to be more precise. Melody is one too, but she falls under the spirit of Pisces."

"I've never heard of you before..." Crona noted.

"Yes, we are very rare, powerful beings. They're only about 360 of us in the world, and we all share one form, as you've seen." Tarse made a gesture. "It's kinda complicated..." She paused for a long while before resuming. "You'll begin to recognize Aries, and Scorpio soon enough roaming around the school once you've seen me. We look almost identical, but just look at our eyes, highlights, and the sign on our forehead. Then, you'll begin to notice the difference." She informed further. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, Crona. I'll see you at the prom. Keep in touch..." With that she turned around and walked away with long, striding steps. Leaving Crona to his own thoughts in the hall.

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**Disclaimer: I do not own the song Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift. All credits go to her. **

**Death: You like it?! Please fav, follow, and review! This is how you pronounce Tarse's name, below. **

**Tarse is pronounced: tuh-AIR-suh **


	3. Meet and Beat?

**Death: Third chapter uploaded! Hope you like it guys! **

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"Hey, Crona!" Maka waved to him stepping down on the steps. "How was the day for you?" Crona's spine jolted with a sonic shock for a second, he didn't expect to see Maka right after his last class.

"O-Oh, good." Crona answered with a quiver.

"So, did you find a date yet?" Soul asked, while opening one of his closed eyes lazily.

"Soul," Maka shot him a glare like, _don't say it like that_. Soul, now with both eyes open faced her directly.

"What?" Soul argued.

"Yes." Crona caught both of their attention with just that one, three letter word. What made the pair even more confused, was that there was absolutely no hesitation in his tone of voice. And yet, he was talking about a _date. _Him, Crona, a date?

"Wait, what?!" Both of them questioned at the same time. Crona hid a blush with his head turned to face the ground.

"I-I f-found one. A date." Crona said. Both of their jaws dropped. Right then, Maka shot straight up and grasped Crona by the shoulders, shaking him vigorously.

"What?! You did? Who was it? Tell me Crona!" Maka demanded while shaking ever last bit of confidence out of him once again.

"Maka, calm down. Come on, the poor kid's had enough for one day," Soul eased her off of him with a single hand placed on her shoulder. "I mean, getting a date on the first day. Man, that must've been tough." Soul scoffed. When Crona didn't answer, he resumed. "So, when did this all happen?"

"Th-This morning. On the balcony." Crona answered.

"Wow, this morning? Man, never knew you had it in ya, Crona." Soul complimented. Crona blushed in embarrassment.

"You still haven't answered my question, Crona. Who was it?" Maka asked. Just then, Tarse came walking down the hall, books to the side of her body, and staring straight ahead, not even bothering to glance at the three of them.

"H-Her." Crona pointed to Tarse. Maka whipped her head around behind her to see. While gazing just one second at the girl, one word popped into mind. _Witch_. Maka didn't even bother to look twice, she took her senses all to seriously to find that one screaming, _no_.

"Witch..." She mumbled.

"What are you talking about Maka?" Soul overheard her.

"Soul, transform!" Maka ordered.

"Are you crazy?"

"Just do it!" She shouted. Soul snarled his defiance, but obeyed his Miester. Maka gripped Soul in her hands and now stood in attacking position, ready to slice the witch in half with the head of the scythe pointed at her neck. Tarse froze in front of her with a raised eyebrow.

"Wait, Maka!" Crona called out to her, but she ignored him.

"Die, Witch!" Maka yelled. Then she attempted to slice Tarse in half by the stomach with Soul. Tarse stopped the blade coming at her left with just the palm of her hand. There was a loud _CLANG_ when Soul's blade came into contact with what sounded like a hard iron brick. Maka gasped.

"Try to slice me one more time, and I'll have to _kill_ you." Tarse threatened. Her voice sounded very similar to a boiling cauldron when she said those words. Maka hesitated.

"Oi! What's with all the noise around here?!" That complaint seemed to radiate from the girl's own body, only she wasn't even moving her lips. Maka soon found out where the voice was coming from when a dragon-like serpent protrude from the witch's very spine. The serpent had vibrant scarlet red scales that plated it's muscular, slender body. Atop (and a little behind) it's head was where a pair of tan, rams horns protruding out from it. It also had ruby colored eyes and a black slit that sliced the middle of the gem. What made this serpent stand out from any ordinary one that Maka had saw (and she encountered _a lot_ of serpents in the past) was that it was literally _on fire_. The scarlet red flames danced atop the surface of the serpent's scales, licking the air above, and making it look about two times larger than it's real size. The whole entire reptile was completely engulfed in the controlled inferno, yet it didn't even show any signs of it burning to death, almost as if the fire wasn't even real. Oh, but it was. Maka could feel the heat radiating from those red flames and slowly roast all of her exposed flesh as time grew on. "Can't a guy get any decent sleep around here without being disturbed. God-lee!" At the word _God-lee _the flames on it's body responded with a dangerous flash of newborn, angry fire. The very heat of the flames cause Maka to jump back in retreat as her skin began to singe.

"Aries, quiet down. Do you want to wake everyone in here?" Another voice spoke inside the witch, this time it was a new one, it's tone radiating with a calm darkness. Then, out of her spine, sprouted another serpent of same length and width as the one on fire. This one's color however, was a poisonous violet texture, deep and dark as they come. Instead of a flaming inferno, it had a certain, mysterious black aura emitting from it. Maka could have sworn she had heard the many torturous cries of the innocent resonating within the serpent's scales. Finally, it's eyes were like that of an amethyst and split apart by a single black slit.

"Argh! Just shut it, Scorpio!" Aries spat at the other serpent.

"Don't let me bring out my stinger." Scorpio hissed back.

"Hey, do you guys fight like this all the time?" Maka said that in such an obnoxious tone, that the two serpents actually turned to face her.

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot that _you're_ still here." Aries narrowed his eyes in distaste.

"You want a fight, little girl?" Scorpio threatened. At that moment, both of the serpents arched their necks back up high, craning their heads to see them from below. They were now towering over all of them at a seven foot tall vantage point. Then, they both began to glow. Aries with scorching heat, and Scorpio with intensifying darkness. Tarse was stone still throughout this whole time, until her eyes began to illuminate with a metallic bronze glow in conjunction with Aries's scarlet red, and Scorpio's deep amethyst eyes.

"Let's see how the two of you can handle all of our attacks at once!" The three of them shouted at the same time. Aries opened its maw wide as it gave birth to a single, spherical flame, roughly the size of a soccer ball just inches away from its actual mouth. Scorpio also began opening its maw, but only partially just to reveal it's venom drenched, serrated teeth.

"Maka, watch out!" Soul cried out. "Block it!"

"Spherical Torch!" Aries yelled.

"Corrosive Acid!" Scorpio hissed.

"That's enough." The voice came from down the steps, and from none other, than Professor Stein. He walked up, casually stepping out of the grey shadows. At the last minute, Maka spotted Tarse slide a (roughly) two foot long (slightly curved) amber bronze sword out of her left sleeve. In one swift motion (so fast, that her eye had trouble keeping up) she held the sword up, tip pointed up towards the ceiling, then quickly jerked her wrist to the right so that the flat surface of the blade faced Maka.

"Zodiac Shield." Tarse commanded. The sword pounded with the order that it had just been given and an opalescent swirl of energy spiraled around it for a split second before shooting itself off to Maka with the speed of a silver bullet. In a single opalescent flash, the small, long energy then expanded itself into a flattened half-sphere that encompassed Maka's front, stretching as tall as eight feet and as long as seven. The shield had surrounded Maka just in time to receive the full blow of Aries and Scorpio's combined attacks. The ball of fire launched by Aries erupted into a field-sized inferno against the elemental shield which surprisingly, didn't even flicker at the heat or sheer force of the scarlet fire. The acid rained down by Scorpio did nothing but meekly tatter against the opalescent encompassment and drip down the surface onto the carpeted floor. Maka was lucky that not one speck of acid had penetrated into the shield or she would've become just like the carpet on the floor, which was now nothing but brownish-black rubble still steaming from the rapid corrosion that spread about two feet out to form a crescent boarder, splitting the whole hall in half.

After what seemed like a long, awing minute, the shield dispersed into tiny opalescent shards that littered the floor for a while before dissolving into nothing. Tarse turned her head down to the last of the elemental flecks from the shield before looking up at Maka once more.

Maka dropped Soul dead on the ground in bewilderment and dropped to her knees. _That... Could've killed me. Just like that. _She shivered in her thoughts.

"Maka, what's wrong?" Soul asked in concern as he transformed back into human again and hovered over her.

"T-That flame... That acid..." She stuttered.

"Could've killed you and your weapon if it wasn't for me. Really, I should've let you die and save myself the trouble." Tarse said with spite.

"Damn you, little brat!" Aries snarled loudly at Maka.

"Tsk, I wished that acid would've corroded you down to the bone, so I wouldn't have to avert my eyes at your disgusting, weeny flesh." Scorpio spat.

"Dammit! Why did you have to fucking defend her with that Zodiac shield, Capricorn?!" Aries just wanted to make a statement. Tarse whipped her head around to face the foul mouthed serpent.

"Skorth, I want you to take a closer look at who's behind you." She said.

"Argh! What now?" Aries then swiveled his head around to the back, and right there stood Professor Stein glaring straight into his eyes. Aries's face dropped right before he retreated back into Tarse with haste. Scorpio also decided it was better to be safe than sorry, and tucked himself back in.

"I saw the whole fight." Stein began. "I have to say, I'm disappointed in you, Maka." Stein swiveled his eyes towards her. Still with her knees on the ground. She seemed to find newfound energy at that scolding. Enough to jump right back on her feet, her head nearly clacking against Soul's chin as she came up.

"What?! Why professor?" Maka questioned.

"Rushing into an unnecessary battle like that on school grounds without even knowing an opponent fully? Really, are you trying to become more like Black*Star?"

"N-No, but she was a wit-"

"If you truly suspected that, wouldn't it be a better idea for you to report that to me or Lord Death for us to handle it?" Maka shrank two inches with her head down in shame. Soul just ignored the lecture with his hands in his pockets since it had nothing to do with him anyways. Then, Stein shifted his shoulders. "Oh, well. It's not like you could've known better. Tarse here is a Zodiac Spirit." Stein gestured for her to wave. She didn't. "They have a very similar soul wavelength to witches, but there are a few things that you could use to tell them apart." Stein decided to stop there before he could down himself and all the others into greater detail. "Alright, now I have to go do some research. Have fun." With that, Stein then walked off down the hallway, past Tarse. The two watched him leave imprints in the carpet for a few seconds before turning to face one another.

"My apologies about earlier. Those two can get a little out of hand. If you know what I mean." Tarse was the first one to say sorry as she now stood in front of Maka, divided by the brown mush now left of the carpet. The acid still sizzling into the fabric. Tarse's sword suddenly glowed with a single bronze light, flickered, and then shrunk into what seemed like a rock-sized cat's eye stone. She then casually tucked it back inside her tunic sleeve. Maka noticed this, but decided to keep the questions for later. She didn't even exactly know what a _Zodiac Spirit_ even was.

"Me, too. Sorry I attacked you. I really thought you were a witch." Maka smiled. Tarse however, wasn't as pleased.

"Yeah, that's what most of the Miesters think. Try to look closer before assuming next time." Tarse suggested. Then, while turning her head away from Maka, she spotted Crona standing near the steps with his right hand gripping part of his left arm. Upon her gazing, he tried to hide a blush. Tarse couldn't help but smile just a smidgen at her date's timid nature.

"I'm Maka Albarn, and this is my partner Soul." Maka gave a late introduction as she gestured to Soul.

"Hey." Soul waved. Tarse gave a respectful nod of the head.

"Hi!" A new voice now spoke up from inside Tarse. This time it was much more upbeat and positive. No doubt it came from a social butterfly. A new serpent then sprouted out from Tarse's spine to reveal itself. The serpent's scales were a light cyan blue (like the color of the sky on a clear winter day) that seemed to glitter like the first frost on a snowy day. Maka recognized the clear breeze swirling around it as the fading chill of winter making way for a warm spring breeze. It had somewhat of a refreshing aura that just made Maka want to smile. And its eyes... It's enticing, mesmerizing eyes. They were a whole mix of all different colors, all blindingly vibrant. Maka felt like she had just stepped into a portal through the time space continuum while trying to decipher all the colors. They also changed, like how you rotate the colored mirrors of a kaleidoscope.

"Tsk, Millie what do you want?" Tarse said through gritted teeth. Millie's soft expression changed as she turned to Tarse.

"Well, someone's a little rotten around the edges today aren't they." Millie scoffed like a whiny four year old. Then the crystal colored serpent turned towards Maka and Soul once again.

"Sorry, were these three lunatics scaring you guys?" Millie seemed to pout that question. "Don't mind them. They're just crazy! I reckon they fell out of the crib and hit their heads on the floor when they were little babies!"

"You shouldn't be talking, Aquarius." Tarse raised an eyebrow playfully to the serpent above her, who gawped at her with jaw dropped open.

"How rude!" She gasped. Tarse just grinned at her face. Then, Millie straightened up her expression (convinced that there was no helping a sign as troublesome as Capricorn) and turned her attention to Soul and Maka instead. "Anyway... To show our deepest apologies for attacking you, even though it wasn't even me, we will gladly invite you to some tea at our household if you'd like." Aquarius offered.

"What? Oh, no we couldn't. It's us that need to apologize." Maka put her hand to her chest.

"Damn straight." Tarse whispered under her breath. She still felt a little bitter about her scythe-scraped hand. The blade was just sharp enough to cut through her rock skin.

"Oh, nonsense!" Millie swatted the air with her tail. "Please, come. We haven't had decent guests since, like, forever!" Just then, another two serpents decided to sprout out from Tarse's spine (Maka guessed that they were the more friendly ones). First, a fish-like serpent manifested out of her back and suspended it's upper body next to Aquarius.

"Pretty, please!" The serpent begged with a cute wiggle of its adorable little fish fins. Maka just_ had_ to touch them! Pisces read her mind and slithered in closer until just inches away from her face. Soul hesitated on wether to choke the serpent half to death for the minimal distance or to just let Maka openly snuggle it to death. "Pretty, pretty please?" With another wiggle of the serpent's fins and Maka was sunk.

"Oh, you're just so cute!" Maka then launched herself at the serpent and wrapped both of her arms around it in a suffocating hug. Melody attempted to hugged back by fluttering her fins ever so lightly against Maka's shoulder blades. Maka then took notice of the second serpent that protruded out from Tarse's spine shortly after the one she was smothering.

That serpent was a dark beige color (that seemed to remind Maka of the caramel toffee she had this morning) with ivy green stripes flowing across her beige scales like a calming windy day. Upon closer inspection, Maka found that they actually _did _flow across her scales, flowing with an invisible breeze imbedded in its pigment. It's eyes were like a combination of those wispy grasses and beige background combined. Although they didn't flow, they were a perfection of metallic tan, and the blood (sap) of grass. The serpent also had somewhat of a homey energy incasing it, giving off the fragrance of a household hearth.

"You should come, our mansion is very neat and tidy and I have no one to show it off to. It's heartbreaking." The serpent exasperated. Maka took a glance at Tarse, just to make sure everything was alright. She did seem like the one in charge of all of them.

"It's fine." Tarse almost sighed. "You're welcome to come if you so choose."

"Choose! Please, choose!" Melody pleaded as she was released from Maka's grasp. Maka then glanced at the other two serpents (Virgo and Aquarius), who nodded eagerly in approval. Maka grinned.

"Alright. I'll come." Maka agreed with a light blush.

"Yay!" Melody cheered. Then she glanced at Crona about eight feet away still staring at them.

"Oh Crona, you should come too. It'll give you a little bonding time with you and Tar-" Melody was stopped in mid-sentence by a fist-sized flying rock that slammed into the side of her face. The force was strong enough to rock her head a foot in the other direction. "Ouch! Tarse, that hurt!" She pouted while doing the puppy eyes at her.

"Exactly. That's why I did it." Tarse almost growled. Maka was puzzled. That rock just hurled itself at Melody's head with no source. How could it be Tarse that did it? She was about to ask, but something in her gut told her that she would get a chance to later.

"Oh, Tarse don't be so moody." Virgo bickered.

"I'm not moody, Morgan. I'm just a little hot-tempered." Tarse explained as she turned her head away while crossing her arms.

"Got that right." Aquarius agreed. Morgan turned her head back to Crona with a soft, welcoming expression.

"Please, do join us. Tarse can be a little foul sometimes, but she's just acting." She implied.

"Yeah, Crona. Come on. It'll be fun." Maka urged.

"O-Ok." Crona nodded. The three serpents all perked up.

"Soul, are you coming too?" Maka asked.

"I'll pass. I'm hanging out with Kid and Black*Star tonight." Soul turned down the offer. Maka shifted her shoulders and then turned towards the four of them once again.

"So when can we come over?" Maka asked them.

"Oh, you can come over right now, since it's the end of school." Morgan offered.

"Yeah!" Millie added.

"Alright, where is it?"

"Oh, we'll show you." Melody assured. Then, the three serpents immediately began to glow a bright white color, including their now luminescent eyes. The celestial light soon engulfed the three completely and began to take a circular shape. The shining haloes then detached themselves from Tarse's back spine and then began to reshape itself back into what seemed like human forms. The light then vanished, leaving behind the bodies of three girls standing right beside Tarse. In fact, for a second Maka thought the three had just made double teams of her until she began noticing the differences between the four.

The two on the left (Maka's left, Tarse's right) she assumed were Melody and Morgan, and the one on the right she assumed was Millie. The four could once again, only be distinguished by the sign on their forehead, their eye color, hair clip, and highlights. Morgan had on sides of her head, two grassy green highlights while Melody also had a pair of highlights on the side of her head, the color of fresh water. Finally, Millie had ones that were a shade of cyan. Along with the hair clips of their zodiac.

"Come on, come on! We can go right now." Millie said as rushed forward, grabbed Maka by the hand, and ran down the hall with her.

"Hey, wait up Millie!" Morgan called, rushing after her with Melody following close behind. Tarse was the only one who stayed behind out of the four. She then turned her attention to the only thing that kept her in place.

"Come on. Don't wanna get left behind now, do we?" Tarse walked forward towards Crona, tapped him lightly on the wrist, and then continued on down the hall. Crona was puzzled by the odd gesture but followed her anyway down the hall.

* * *

**Death: I kinda put in the characteristics of the stereotypical traits of the sign, so it wouldn't be so misleading. Don't worry, you will get a chance to meet all 12 in the next chapter! Stay tuned!**


	4. Tea and Coffee with the Zodiacs

**Death: Hello all! Thanks for waiting, proceed to fourth chapter. **

* * *

"Ok Maka, Crona, I want you both to close your eyes now." Morgan said. The six of them were now outside on the DWMA school entrance and... Well... Were just standing there. Maka turned to her.

"Huh? Why?" She questioned.

"It'll make getting there a whole lot faster if you do." Millie added. Crona was the first to close his eyes. Maka followed the Demon Weapon Miester's example hesitantly. Tarse stepped forward and placed one hand on Crona's shoulder while Morgan placed one on Maka's.

There was a small, brief pause of breath as the four zodiac members nodded to each other. Then, both Maka and Crona felt a violent blast of air collide with their front bodies, almost tumbling them back into Tarse and Morgan. Good thing their hands were as solid as rock. While just standing their, Maka and Crona could both feel wind whipping through their hair, graze their skin, and ruffle their cloths. After what seemed like five seconds, their thrill ride was brought to an abrupt halt. The two would've toppled forward to the ground if it weren't for Tarse and Morgans vise like grips.

"Well, here we are. Home." Tarse announced as she slipped her hand from Crona's shoulder. Morgan noticed the both of them still quivering from the teleportation process.

"You can open your eyes now guys. It's ok," Morgan ushered as she retracted her hand from Maka's shoulder. Melody and Millie shortly arrived behind and walked towards the four, positioning themselves at their sides. Both Maka and Crona blinked their eyes open. It was quite a sight to endure in front of them.

Towering above them was a white, colossal mansion that had to be at least thirty feet tall and twice that of the length. A tall, jet black door stood as an entrance behind four, thick white columns positioned in a half-circle around it. A grey slate pathway snaked to the entrance along with a few stone steps leading up to the door. Off the path however, was a whole large field of green, fertile grass and various trees sprouting out from the ground here and there. Some with bone-like branches, some with green and summery foliage, some with red autumn leafs, and even some in full bloom (despite it being in the middle of winter). The strange thing about the field in relation with the trees, was the weather phenomenon happening all around. In the patch of bare branches, it was openly snowing, the flakes elegantly falling and piling down atop the ground. To the orchard in full bloom, beams of sunlight seeped through the sprouting flowers and highlighted various plump fruit just waiting to be plucked off the newly shed bark. Next to the brilliant bloomers of the scenery stood several trees with bright orange and red leafs that seemed to be made of golden ichor as the now faint ray of sun shone through the leafs, also beneath the autumn seasoned trees were several mounds of dead brown ones that littered the grass in the area. The last group of trees standing near the winter seasoned were thick with the healthy green foliage of summer.

Maka and Crona stood mystified at the sight and scenery, jaws dropped in awe.

"Wow, this is all yours? You live here?" Maka exasperated.

"Yep, everything you see in here belongs to us. And yes, this is our home." Morgan answered graciously. Suddenly, Tarse sighed a long, slow breath. Then, a total of eight serpents began sprouting out of the back of her spine once again. The first one to show itself was a familiar one. The serpent was none other than Aries whom Maka knew to hated her. This time Skorth had a wide grin on his face, but you couldn't really tell if he was in an overjoyed or in a maniacally evil mood.

"Alright, let's get this party started!" Skorth shouted in serpent form. Then he leaned his head down to Tarse. "Ready for a little match, Tarse?" Skorth challenged. She smirked, but before she could answer him, another serpent head popped out of her spine.

"Break it up guys. Before I pummel one of your face first into the ground." The voice was undeniably male with that deep rumbling tone. The serpent itself had scales the color of rich soil, but Maka noticed that the scales overlapped more than the previous serpents she had seen sprout out from Tarse's spine. While the other serpent's scales could be compared to a leather sheath, this serpent's scales fit like a suit of plated armor. The large snake seemed to deliver a certain calm, _protective_ aura to the area, making Maka feel all safe and secure despite the odd occurring phenomenon that was happening all around her. In fact, the energy felt like the complete opposite of Scorpio's energy when Maka and him fought. The serpent's eyes were a strange blue color that looked similar to a topaz gemstone. Lastly, protruding out from the sides of its head, were a single pair of bull's horns.

"Gah! Shut up, Bruce! No one asked you!" Aries spat at him. "That's it, I'm getting out of this dump," He then turned luminescent white as he morphed into human form. Once again, the only difference between him an the others were his eyes, blood red highlights, and the hair clip.

Taurus followed Skorth's example and manifested himself into human form also. His color highlights however, was a shade of brown so rich and dark that it almost looked black.

"Tsk, stupid mad-cow," Skorth whispered under his breath while brushing some dirt off his shoulder.

"Can I chuck a rock at his head?" Taurus offered as he pointed to Aries.

"Oh, you two. Setting such a bad example when we have guests?" A new voice emitted from Tarse's spine. This one's was particularly girly and feminine, yet demanding at the same time. The serpent then finally appeared between them out of Tarse's spine. Maka was confused at the color of this serpent's scales for a moment. First, she saw it was a pitch black color with pearl white eyes, but as it turned it's head to her she saw that the other half was albino white with coal black eyes. The serpent's being was split into two halves that could not only be distinguished by color, but also by energy as Maka soon found out. The side with black scales reminded Maka of the tranquility of night, while the side with white scales reminded Maka of the bursting energy of day.

"Fine, Gemini. We'll _try_ to cause less havoc today," Taurus smirked as he crossed his arms.

"No guarantees," Tarse added with a sly smile spread across her face. Gemini frown at their teasing and decided to morph into human form next to them. Her eyes represented that of her serpent form, one on the left was a blizzard white (you could only tell the lens from the entire eyeball by the pale grey outline) and the one on the right was so entirely pitch black that neither the pupil nor the outline were even visible. Her highlights however, were a soft lavender shade. Lastly, she had clipped on the right side of head, the being of her zodiac as all of them did.

Several more serpents then began rapidly sprouting out of Tarse's spine in astrological order. Cancer came next after Gemini. She had orangey, crab like scales with black eyes, three pairs of small crab-like legs protruded from her side (a little below her neck) and curled around her underside. She seemed to give off a certain _maternal_ aura around her. Her human form Maka saw had somewhat pale orangey highlights with some tiny streaks of white showing up here and there.

Next came Leo with its radiant golden scales and majestic proud aura. It's eyes were the same color as its scales. The serpent was also maned, staring at the forehead and trailing down the spine in one long strip. Maka assumed the mane was that of a lions' considering how the ginger-brown tufts flowed regally on the breeze. She sensed something weird about it's aura though. Maka had a feeling that she wasn't getting everything from it. Perhaps it was the slight buzzing and crackling of electricity that seemed to be going on only on the inside of the serpent, but she had a feeling that it could also be dancing atop the outside at times of need. In Leo's human form she had unmistakable golden highlights.

Libra then sprouted out shortly after the regal lion. For a second, Maka thought that Leo had just made another copy of herself at first glance at his scales. Looking more closely, she saw that his scales were actually more a tarnished brass than a shiny gold. His eyes were a swirl of cyan blue along with ivy green. His energy brought upon an undying peace to the area, along with the serenity of soft little breezes. In his human form he had streaked in his hair, cyan blue highlights with small strands of the ivy green. Then, he looked at Maka with the most calm serene expression ever found in the world. She then saw him hold two fingers up.

"Peace dude," Libra chuckled.

"SHUT UP!" All the zodiacs shouted in unison while whipping their heads around to glare at the lone sign threateningly.

After that came a familiar serpent that Maka knew only as Scorpio who scowled at the sight of her. Maka placed her hands on her hips.

"Oh, still holding a grudge I see," Maka spat. She thought she had just dropped the bomb on the serpent, but to her surprise the aura around him only intensified by a fraction. He didn't even change his expression at her bratty comment, nor showed any signs of wanting to attack her. Scorpio then morphed into his human form that had deep violet highlights along with the hair clip that every sign had on. In his attempt to avoid another confrontation with Maka, he turned his back to her and stuck his nose up snobbishly.

"Oh, so you're going to be rude to our guests too, Scorpio? Tsk, you and Aries are _so_ alike." Gemini complained. That sure got Scorpio's attention.

"In case you haven't noticed, Jewel, Skorth and I have nothing in common." He stated.

"Damn straight!" Aries agreed.

"Well, for your information, Scorpio, I was about to compare you to Tarse but she was one of the only ones _not_ being rude today. Unlike you two, who attacked our lovely guests." Jewel gestured to Maka and Crona.

"Lovely?" Skorth coughed. "Ha! I could find the same thing at a dumpster." He was right in mid-laugh when Tarse glared at him.

"Watch it, Aries. One of them's my-"

"Tsk, I know, I know. One of them's your da-" Skorth was stopped mid-sentence by a fist sized rock that magically chucked itself right into his open mouth.

"I as going to say_ friend_." Tarse said. Some of the zodiacs around them chuckled at Skorth's attempt to remove the rock from his maw, including Maka, Pisces, Aquarius, Gemini, Cancer, Virgo, and a mysterious new voice that was emitting from Tarse once again.

Maka watched the last and final zodiac serpent protrude out of Tarse's spine. It's scales were a vibrant, flame-like orange along with a pair of eyes that were a mix of dark pink and purple. Like Aries, this serpent also had a flaming, elemental aura. However it wasn't as aggressive and domineering as Skorth's flames were. They were in fact, a more _playful_ flame (as weird as it sounds) that kind to express joy in ones' own soul. The flames also gave off a small, energetic kind of warmth. It made Maka almost want to play with fire again.

"Sorry, I'm late guys," Sagittarius apologized.

"Felix, you're always late." Leo rolled her eyes. Felix gave a smug smile and morphed into his human form with flaming orange highlights.

"Alright, so now that we're all here, shouldn't we get going with showing our guests to the mansion?" Virgo suggested. Capricorn nodded.

"Right this way," She gestured to the entrance of the mansion.

The inside was just as mystifying and glorious as the exterior. The first thing you would notice were the smooth, expensive marble walls, ceilings, and tiles that made up the entire mansion, like it was entirely crafted from the finest minerals of the earth. Up above on the dome shaped ceiling, hung high against the walls were twelve large banners in a circle. They all contained the being of each sign printed upon the fabric, including the house number and constellation.

Going back to what was in front of her, Maka spotted a large case of tall stairs leading in a zigzag up to the highest floors. She guessed maybe about four floors, each one consisting of a different energy. The very floor she was on, Maka could feel the grounding a security of earth all around her. She could also feel a certain power to Tarse, Morgan, and Bruce, like they had an _advantage_ almost. On the second floor she could sense the entity of flowing water, full of nourishment and flexibility. Utter mystery almost too difficult to describe. Above the flowing, invisible liquid currents of the second floor, the third one awaited. Maka could spot lit torches, candles, and open braziers either hung on the wall or licking oxygen atop the stair spires. The third floor also had plenty of scarlet red, flaming orange, and sunburst yellow carpeting, walls, and banners. Finally, the fourth and top floor was relatively pale in color. The marble was grey and the carpeting was drably white. Yet, there was something lively going on up there. It almost seemed like a silent party was happening without her. Maka could hear joyous laughs and gleeful giggles emitting from several bodies of wind that circled, slithered, and collided with each other.

"Yeah, sorry about that. The wind spirits like to inhabit the top floor. We let them stay here, and in trade they do most of the house keeping around here." Aquarius said. She had noticed Maka taking her sweet time awing at the top floor. "Best to just leave them be." Millie added.

"Ugh, can I go now. This is boring," Skorth grunted as he yawned. He began leaning against one of the many marble pillars in the mansion and lazily closed his eyes.

"Hold on. You can pig-out all you want after a cup of tea." Millie informed. Skorth's eyes fluttered open as he whipped her head around to her.

"Tea?!" He objected.

"Fine! Coffee then,"

"Coffee?!"

"Ugh, just what do you want, Aries?" Millie prodded her brow with a finger. Skorth's face (almost) lit up.

"A cup of fresh blood, if you'd be so kind." He crooned. Maka knit her eyebrows at how polite he was being (or not). Even Crona had a questioning look on his face.

"Blood?" Maka turned to Skorth.

"What? Us Zodiac Signs have a different diet than most mortals, alright." He shifted his shoulders. Maka got the impression that he was in a much calmer mood now. "For example, Tarse and Bruce here munch on random rocks they find." He gestured to Capricorn and Taurus. "Comfort, Melody, and Scorpio just... Drink a lot of water I guess. Although, Scorpio does have a fairly odd habit of devouring pretty flowers..." Maka then turned to Scorpio after hearing that, who was currently leaning next to Tarse on a wall column with eyes contently closed until Maka laid her's on them.

"What? That only happens when I'm depressed." Scorpio stated with a huff.

"Isn't that _all the time_, Scorpio?" Leo teased. He just blinked (very) slowly and continued to stare off into the distance (which was a blank marble wall).

"Ok, guys enough about us. Let's see to the comfort of our guests." Tarse stated as she pushed off the column that she was previously leaning against. Virgo's face lit up as she quickly jumped right in front of the Maka and Crona, momentarily startling the both of them.

"Oh, yes! Can I get you two some some tea? Coffee?" Morgan ushered.

"Take the tea!" Melody added. Right then, Ragnarok came popping out of Crona's spine and straddling his hair for balance. Virgo smiled.

"Oh, you must be the other soul inside Crona. Demon Weapon. Was that correct?" She questioned. Ragnarok looked dumbstruck by her question right off the bat. He probably didn't know that she was Morgan and not Tarse or Melody.

"Uh, yeah. Back to the tea, I don't care, just make it spicy!" Ragnarok demanded. Morgan nodded.

"Alright. Crona, Maka, what kind do you guys want?" She asked.

"Oh, no I really shouldn't," Maka shook her head while gesturing with her hands.

"Are you sure? It's on the house!" Felix advertised. Maka took time to consider. She didn't want to be rude or anything.

"Uh, well... Thing is, I don't really know what to pick." Maka scratched her head. Morgan still looked as perked up as ever.

"Oh, that's just fine. I know just know you want. Can you tell me your birthday?"

"Oh, it's March 23rd."

"Perfect!" Virgo exclaimed. "Crona, can I get yours?"

"O-Oh, it's October 24th." Crona answered. Maka saw out of the corner of her eye, Scorpio open his eyes and turn his head to them, although nothing emitted from the silent sign. Morgan gave a comforting smile at him, then turned her head to Aires and Scorpio. Her expression changing to a dead serious one.

"Skorth, Scorpio, join me in the kitchen, please." Virgo ordered as she turned and began walking towards the marble kitchen. Scorpio pushed off of the column without complaint and followed the Keeper of the Hearth. Aries however, did not go as quietly.

"Tsk, Earth signs bossing me around..." He grumbled his other insults as he followed her as well. There was a long pause before their foot steps could no longer be heard from the entrance.

"While their getting tea ready, would you two like to make yourselves comfortable in the living room?" Laris offered. Crona and Maka both nodded their heads. Laris then clapped his hands together in glee. "How swell!" Tarse and Bruce couldn't help but snicker at how girly he sounded just then.

"Right this way," Tarse gestured to a large, doorless entrance to another room.

* * *

**Death: Fifth chapter will be coming out soon. Sorry for making it longer. I don't like to rush a relationship or a story. :P **


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